Publisher's Synopsis
Havamal, a late Viking Age literary and poetic work based on advice from the Norse god Odin, has long been seen as a collection of useful bits of knowledge. In his debut book, Dennis Grace shows how, though nearly 1000 years old, the book has more relevancy today than we might think. Grace, over the course of two years, researched translations and and interpretations of the text in composing this work, with the hopes of passing on its history and his own collection of advice to his children.Havamal: Medieval Advice for Modern Society is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of ancient wisdom combined with today's thoughts on how to live a full and happy life. Far from being the simple-minded savages portrayed in film and literature, Nordic and Germanic tribes actually had a reputation of being very close societies, keen on individual rights, justice, and honor, and were quite giving of themselves. Here, Grace, an adherent of Norse Heathenism, removes the religious aspects of the topic and focuses only on how the logic and knowledge contained in each stanza can be used to strengthen relationships and build close-knit communities today. Dennis Grace invites the reader to take the basic conversation starter included in his book and use it to begin a discussion with the reader's own family and friends. "Build your own legacy, the way our ancestors intended".
